First Aid: Scars
by Frontline
Summary: Rung needs to debrief First Aid after he is four days late from a supply run. However, getting him to open up is harder than he expected...
1. Chapter 1

**All characters and concepts are the property of their respective creators. No copyright infringement is intended, or profit made, from this work of fiction.**

Patient ID: #LLCMC-75

Name: First Aid

Function: Field Medic

Session No: 32

Rung sat back from the terminal at his desk next to the viewport, the inky blackness of space visible outside. An orange mechanoid with a slender frame and thin face, his most marked features were his green eyes and large "eyebrows", as Swerve liked to call them.

'So...how are you feeling?' Rung asked, looking across at First Aid. A red and white mech with red crosses on his shoulders, he was sitting opposite his desk with his hands clasped in front of him.

'...fine...'

'...okay,' Rung said. 'Rodimus and Ultra Magnus wanted me to debrief you after...what happened...'

'I've already submitted my report...' First Aid said, without looking up at him.

'I know,' Rung said. 'I've read it. It's less than a page long...'

'...so...?'

'So...you're four days overdue for your return from Shojezuno. According to Rodimus, you were in a state of shock when he found you...'

'It's been...a rough few days...' First Aid said and Rung nodded.

'Why don't you start at the beginning...?'

'I...was coming back from Shojezuno with the medical supplies when I came under attack by a star cruiser. I tried to evade them, but their lasers disabled my engines and they locked a tractor beam on my shuttle, drawing it into their hanger...'

#################

First Aid drew his laser pistol as he felt the shuttle settle onto the hanger. Nothing happened for a moment and then the hatchway blew in with a dull thump that overloaded his audio receptors for a second. Even before the smoke had cleared, four battered mechanoids charged through and First Aid opened fire. His laser blast punched through the visor of the lead mech before the others bore him to the ground, his pistol clattering away. He struggled against them as he was hauled to his feet and dragged outside, being forced to his knees in front of a white and green mech with a domed, visored helmet and anti-grav generators on his shoulders.

'He's the only one onboard, Wire,' one of the Mechs grated. 'He killed Mangle. What d'you want us to do with him...?'

'What's your name?' Wire asked, his voice as raspy as the other mech's.

'That's a bad case of vocoder degradation you've got there,' First Aid said. 'You guys obviously don't have a very good health plan...'

'Name,' Wire repeated, his fist striking First Aid on the jaw and he would have been knocked backwards if the other mechs hadn't been restraining him.

'First Aid,' he said, raising his head to meet his gaze. 'I'm an Autobot...'

'Can you fight...?' Wire asked.

'I'm a medic...' First Aid replied.

'Bring him,' Wire said, the other mechs dragging him to his feet...

#################

'What did they want?' Rung asked and First Aid hesitated before answering.

'They...ran a fighting pit on their ship...'

'And...they forced you to fight...?'

'No. It was...worse than that...'

#################

'In!' Wire said, shoving First Aid through the door into the dingy room, the only light coming from the barred and grilled windows at the other end. 'Don't get too comfortable...'

'Why? What's going to happen...?'

'You'll find out,' Wire said, just as a loud klaxon sounded, followed by the grating of metal. Turning his back on Wire, who was smirking, First Aid crossed to the barred windows. Outside was a crude, high-walled pit with a pitted metal floor, the stands above filled with a mechs and organics, as well as lifeforms that he couldn't identify. At the ends of the pit, two metal hatches were opening, the source of the grinding noise that he had heard. From one hatch emerged a grey skinned humanoid barely half as tall as First Aid, carrying a shield and an energy sword. From the other came a black and orange mechanoid bearing a crude metal club. Larger and more angular than Cybertronians, he moved with a mechanical clunkiness. The hatches ground shut as the organic and the mech advanced, their weapons raised, and the mech struck. He swung his club overhead in a double-handed strike, but the humanoid dodged aside, the blow striking the floor with a reverberating clang. Before the mech could attack again, the humanoid danced forward, his sword slashing out to sever the servos of his right leg. He cried out in pain and stumbled forward as the humanoid leapt, driving the sword through his chest. His scream was almost drowned out by the roar of the crowd as he pitched forward, the light fading from his eyes.

'Looks like you won't be needed this time,' Wire said as the humanoid turned his back and walked away, while several other mechs entered the pit and dragged the body away. The klaxon sounded again and another mech entered. Sleeker, with a silver and blue body, he was carrying a large Gatling cannon. The door opposite him ground open again and First Aid's eyes widened at what he saw. It was a large burning creature that walked on all fours, the floor charring beneath it's feet. As it moved, First Aid thought he could catch flickers of reptilian features, but he couldn't be sure if that was just the wavering of the flames. Activating his thermal sensors, he saw that the creature was burning at over 1000*c. The mech's eyes widened and he raised his Gatling cannon, unleashing a hail of bullets towards the creature. However, the bullets simply melted before they could do any damage. With a roar, the creature released a burst of flame towards the mech, who threw himself sideways. However, he wasn't fast enough. As he hit the ground, First Aid saw that his Gatling gun had been melted, along with his hand. He scrambled back to his feet, but the creature sprang and bore him to the ground. Even from this distance, First Aid could see his armour beginning to bubble and melt, wincing at his scream of pain.

'Get it off him,' he yelled, turning to Wire, who merely folded his arms over his chest. First Aid turned back to the pit as more mechs poured in, carrying portable fire fighting equipment. Using bursts of foam, they drove the creature back through the hatchway, as others carried the injured mech towards First Aid. Another hatch in the wall ground open and they dumped him on the floor where he lay, groaning in pain.

'Hold on,' First Aid said, dropping to his knees beside him and activating his diagnostic scanners. 'You're going to be okay,' he said. 'It's only superficial damage. I'm going to shut down your receptors until your CR systems can neutralise the heat...'

He extended his medical tool from his finger and inserted it into the port on his neck.

'There. There's not much that I can do for your hand, though...'

The mech said nothing, just getting to his feet and lumbering from the room.

'Come on,' Wire said. 'Fun's over...'

#################

'What happened to the mech you treated,' Rung asked and First Aid looked down at his hands.

'...I don't know,' he said. 'I never saw him again...'

'What happened next?' Rung asked.

'They showed me to my..."accommodation..."

#################

'In!' Wire said and First Aid was shoved through the doorway, the hatch slamming shut behind him. As his optics adjusted to the low light, he saw that he wasn't alone, with three other mechs lying on recharge slabs. One was black and grey with fins on his shoulders, the second was an orange female-styled mech with a dented chest plate, while the third was short and stocky with a missing optic and treads on his arms.

'Hey,' the finned mech said, sitting forward with a grin. 'I'm Chase. This is Snap,' he added, glancing at the female-styled mech, 'and Blunt. You can have the recharge slab over there. The energon is nasty, but it keeps you going through the day...'

A klaxon sounded and he grimaced.

'Well, that means light's out. Come on. Best to get it over with...'

Hesitantly, First Aid climbed onto the recharge slab, feeling his systems being forcibly shut down...

 **Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Any comments, reviews or constructive criticism very welcome.**


	2. Chapter 2

**All characters and concepts are the property of their respective creators. No copyright infringement is intended, or profit made, from this work of fiction.**

 _'First Aid! Where the hell are you?! I need you to help me hold this one down!'_

 _'Pharma? Where are you...?'_

 _'Right here,' Pharma said, stepping out of the shadows with his head held under one arm. 'Right where you put me...'_

 _'No...' First Aid said, backing away as Pharma advanced, his hand transforming into a chainsaw._

 _'It's only what you deserve,' Pharma said. 'You took my head, so I think I'll take yours...'_

 _'No,' First Aid repeated as the chainsaw whirred to life. 'No...'_

#################

'No!' First Aid yelled, jolting awake with a strangled cry.

'I did warn you that the Energon was pretty nasty,' Chase said, as First Aid swung his legs off the recharge slab. 'You okay...?'

'Yeah,' First Aid said. 'I'm fine...It was just a bad dream...'

'Who's Pharma?' Snap asked, Chase glaring at her and she shrugged. 'You said his name while you were offline...'

'He...was my boss on Delphi...'

'The medical outpost...?' Blunt asked and First Aid nodded.

'Yeah...'

'What happened to him...?' Chase asked.

'I killed him,' First Aid said, just as a loud klaxon sounded.

'Come on,' Blunt said, as the door to their cell opened. 'Another rotation, another chance to get ripped open or roasted...'

First Aid followed them outside where they lined up against the wall.

'What's happening?' First Aid asked and Blunt glanced over at him.

'Role call. They like to put us in our place, to remind us who's in charge...'

'There'll be fights between the new "recruits" this morning,' Chase said. 'To sort the steel from the scrap...'

'Shut your traps!' Clang said, as he rounded the corner. 'You scrapheaps get to training. You,' he said, turning to First Aid. 'Come with me. The Boss wants to see you...'

#################

First Aid was shoved through the door into a long room where Wire was standing at the end with his arms folded over his chestplate.

'What is this place?' First Aid asked and Wire stalked towards him.

'Your Clinic...'

'Are you serious?' First Aid exclaimed. 'This equipment is primitive...'

'This isn't Cybertron,' Wire said. 'You'd better get this place ready. You'll have patients soon...'

#################

 _This equipment is antiquated,_ First Aid thought, as he dropped a micro-welder back onto the equipment tray with a snort of disgust. _Pfft. Most of the stuff here is pre-war Cybertronian. I might as well be operating with a hammer and blowtorch..._

A faint humm from behind made him turn to see a monitor on the wall come to life, showing an image of a dozen figures standing in the pit. The image was too grainy for him to make out details, but he counted two mechs and a dozen organics.

 _No..._

He couldn't tear his optics away as the fight began, descending into a chaotic melee. Despite the confusion, there were things that he could not miss. One of the mechs stomping two of the organics into the ground before he was felled by a spear through the chest. An organic getting his arm torn off by two others. The other mech squeezing a three-armed humanoid to death in his metal fist. When the carnage ended, only one organic was left standing. He watched blankly as Wire's minions moved through the bodies, sorting the dead from the living, and he knew that his prediction about him being busy was about to come true...

#################

'You're lucky,' First Aid said, as he examined the cut on the neck of a grey-skinned humanoid. 'An inch to the left and it would have severed your jugular. I'll...need to cauterise it, but we don't have any anaesthetic...'

'Get on with it,' the humanoid said, gritting his teeth as First Aid activated his cautery laser, running it along the wound.

'You're done,' he said, turning to a bulky red and white mechanoid. Even with only a brief examination, he could see that his shoulder had been nearly torn off.

'How bad is it?' The mech asked and First Aid shook his head.

'It's...pretty bad. The joint's still attached, but there's a lot of damage. I'll need to weld it back together...'

He grabbed a fusion welder, running it along the joint, leaving an ugly scar.

'That's the best I can do, but it won't be the same unless I can get some replacement parts...'

'...it doesn't matter,' the mech said, getting up and lumbering out, First Aid clenching his fists.

'Clang,' First Aid said. 'I need to see Wire...'

'The boss is busy...' Clang said and First Aid slammed him against the wall, one arm pressed against his neck, aiming his cautery laser at his left optic.

'Either I see Wire,' he snarled,' or I'll take out your optic and give it to the next patient who needs it...'

'...alright, alright. I'll do it. Just take it easy...'

#################

'What's so urgent...?' Wire demanded as he stormed into the Clinic, stopping when he saw Clang behind held against the wall by First Aid, one arm twisted behind his back. 'Release him,' Wire said and First Aid let him go, stepping back theatrically.

'Clang, get out of here,' Wire said and he hesitated before darting towards the door with his head down.

'Looks like you've got some gears after all,' Wire said, folding his arms across his chest plate. 'If you've gone to all this trouble, then you must want something...'

'If I'm going to do this, then I'll need some proper supplies. I'll need more medicines and painkillers, especially anti-biopics, as well as spare parts for the mechs...'

'...alright,' Wire said. 'I'll get you the medicines. As for the spare parts, well, we've got a morgue downstairs...'

'What?! You can't be serious...?'

'Do I look like I'm not serious...? I suggest you get to it...'

#################

First Aid grasped the handle of the door to the morgue and pulled it open, steeling himself as he stepped through. Inside, a dozen mechs lying on the floor or leaning against the walls and he felt his fists clenched. Even from this distance, he could see that rigor morphis had set in.

 _Come on, get a grip. They're dead and your patients are still alive. You need to focus on them..._

#################

'You harvested components from the dead mechs...?' Rung asked.

'I had to!' First Aid exploded. 'I didn't have a choice, if I was going to keep the others alive...'

'...alright,' Rung said. 'Let's take a break. We'll start again in...'

'Right,' First Aid said, standing up and heading towards the door.

'...an hour,' Rung finished, as the hatchway hissed closed behind him.

 **Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Any comments, reviews or constructive criticism very welcome.**


	3. Chapter 3

**All characters and concepts are the property of their respective creators. No copyright infringement is intended, or profit made, from this work of fiction.**

'What'll you have?' Swerve asked as First Aid approached the bar.

'Engex...'

'Coming up,' Swerve said, turning to the refinery at the back of the bar and drawing a glass of glowing blue liquid. 'Here...'

'...thanks,' First Aid said, downing half of it in one go and Swerve frowned.

'I heard that you've been shut in with Rung ever since you got back from Shojezuno. You okay...?'

'Yes...' First Aid said, without looking up from his drink.

'Come on. What happened? You can tell me...'

'Nothing happened!' First Aid snapped, coming to his feet so fast that he knocked over his stool. 'And even if it did, I don't want to talk about it...'

He slammed his glass on the bar so hard that it shattered and stormed out, his half-drunk Engex pooling on the floor...

################

'You're back early,' Rung said, as he opened the door of his office to find First Aid outside. 'Do you...feel ready to continue...?'

'...yeah,' First Aid said and Rung nodded.

'Very well,' he said, ushering First Aid inside. 'Sit down...'

First Aid dropped back into the chair, sitting forward and staring down at his hands.

'...alright,' Rung said. 'Wire wanted you to harvest components from the dead mechs. Let's pickup from there...'

################

First Aid willed his hand not to shake as he removed the shoulder joint from the last mech, dropping it into the crate with the rest of the components that he had harvested. Closing the lid, he looked around at the remains of the scavenged mechs, closing his eyes for a second before rapping his knuckles on the door.

'I'm done,' he called. 'Clang, open the door...'

There was silence, so he hammered on the door.

'Clang! This isn't funny. Let me out of here...' he shouted, just as the door ground open.

'Don't blow a spark plug,' Clang said as First Aid backed out, dragging the crate behind him.

'What will happen to them?' he asked and Clang shrugged.

'They're no use, now. They'll be melted down for reforging...'

'You can't...!' First Aid cried and Clang turned with a punch that lifted him off his feet.

'You'd better get back to the Medbay,' he said, standing over him with a cruel grin. 'The next round of fights is about to start...'

################

'Hey,' Snap said, from where she was leaning against the wall outside the door to the Pit. 'I'm up next,' she said, gesturing over her shoulder towards the heavy steel door. 'Shouldn't be long, now. There's some little runt of a mech in there who'll be an oil stain on the floor in under a cycle...'

'Why do you do this?' First Aid asked and she shrugged.

'What choice do we have? If we don't fight, Wire will kill us and find someone else. Besides, if we win enough fights, we earn our freedom...'

'Has anyone survived long enough...?'

'...no,' she said, just as the door to the Pit ground open and she picked up her mace.

'Well, gotta go. I'll see you...'

 _Yeah..._ First Aid thought. _One way or another..._

################

First Aid watched with his fists clenched as Snap squared off with her opponent, a hulking cyborg with an armoured chest and cybernetic limbs. Snap raised her mace and lunged towards him as his arm shifted shape, transforming into a crude cannon that sparked at the end. Before Snap could dodge, the cannon released an arc of electricity that struck her chest plate and lifted her off her feet. Springing back to her feet, she charged again, rolling left as the cannon fired, leaving a charred mark on the floor where she had been. Coming to her feet, she brought her mace down on his arm with a crushing blow, servos sparking as she reversed the mace in a savage strike to the side of his head. The cyborg collapsed, the glow fading from his eyes and the crowd cheered as Wire's minion came and dragged his body away. However, Snap's eyes were already on the entrance to the Pit, which ground open to reveal a tall, sleek black mechanoid with an energy whip in one hand. He advanced towards her, cracking the whip beside him to leave a charred slice in the ground and Snap stepped back, raising her mace. Faster than First Aid could follow, the whip sliced out and wrapped around her knee, pulling her off balance. The black mechanoid advanced, raising his whip and Snap kicks out to his hip, putting all her weight and power behind it, the force of the blow buckling his armour and bending it inwards. Before he can recover, her mace swings up in a vicious arc that takes his head from his shoulders and he collapses. With a grunt of pain, Snap pushes herself to her feet and hobbles out of the Pit towards First Aid.

'Here, let me...' First Aid said, starting forward to help her, but she shook him off.

'Leave it,' she snarled. 'I'm fine...'

'You're not,' First Aid said. 'Your knee joint is damaged. I'll need to replace it, but this will hold it for now...'

'Fine,' Snap relented as he grabbed a wrench and started tightening the bolts around her knee joint. Then, she looked up as Blunt walked past them into the Pit, a blaster pistol clutched in one hand. Already waiting was a hulking mech armed with a spear and shield. As First Aid watched, Blunt charged towards him, his pistol firing, only to be absorbed by the mech's shield. Trying to get around it, Blunt dodged left, but the Mech thrust out his shield, sending him stumbling backwards. Before Blunt could recover, he stabbed him through the chest with his spear.

'No...!'

First Aid could only watch helpless as the mech withdrew the spear and Blunt collapsed to the ground, the light fading from his eyes. Even from this distance, First Aid knew that there was nothing he could do. Turning away from the Pit, he glanced at Snap, who was staring at the floor and his hands bunched into fists. Seeing him staring, she got up and walked away without looking back.

 _Dammit..._

################

First Aid stepped into the dingy bar, being greeted by the sharp tang of unrefined energon and motor oil. Snap and Chase were seated at the back, drinking in grim silence as First Aid walked over.

'I'm sorry about Blunt,' he said and Chase downed his drink in one swig.

'It's coming to us all,' he said. 'Blunt knew the score...'

'Maybe not,' First Aid said. 'My friends'll be looking for me. When they get here, we can all escape...'

'No-one can find us here,' Snap said, without looking up from her drink.

'Not necessarily,' First Aid countered, lowering his voice. 'I've got work to do. I need to get back to the morgue...'

################

First Aid stepped into the morgue, stopping dead when he saw Blunt's body leant against the wall. Steeling himself, he knelt down next to him, activating his laser scalpel.

 _Okay. He's a pre-war Cybertronian, so his RF/E receiver should be here..._

Carefully, he cut away his shoulder plate and removed an ovoid device with a depression in the centre. Smiling grimly, he dropped it into the crate.

 _Thanks, Blunt. This might just be our way out of here..._

################

First Aid dumped the crate of components that he had harvested on the table, glancing over his shoulder as he punched the door control, the hatch grinding shut. Opening the crate, he quickly sorted through them, laying four on the workbench. Picking up Blunt's RF/E receiver, he took out his microwelder.

 _Okay. Here goes..._

################

With an acrid smell of solder, First Aid welded the last component into place.

 _That's one of the ugliest things I've ever built..._

A crude assemblage of parts, irregular and bulky, it looked like what it was; a bodge job. Still, it would have to do.

Let's hope this works... First Aid thought, as he flipped the switch on the side. Nothing happened for a moment and then the device began to hum, a red light glowing in the centre.

 _Okay..._

Quickly, First Aid shoved it into a storage unit behind some other spare parts, just as the Clinic door opened.

'Need some help here,' Snap barked and First Aid's head snapped round to see her dragging Chase in through the doorway. He wasn't moving and First Aid could see that his chest plate was badly crushed, the metal bent and buckled.

 _No..._

'Help me get him on the table,' First Aid said, grabbing his legs and together they lifted him onto the recharge slab.

'What happened...?' First Aid asked and Snap rounded on him.

'What do you think happened? Just fix him...'

################

'I've done what I can,' First Aid said. 'He's stabilised now and he should be coming out of stasis lock...'

'Uhhhn,' Chase said, his optics flickering back on and he looked from First Aid to Snap. 'What happened...?'

'You got the scrap kicked out of you, that's what happened!' Snap yelled, turning an storming out of the clinic.

'She's fine ,' Chase said, struggling to sit up. 'So, how bad is it...?'

'...bad. Your torso superstructure is cracked and your internal systems are operating on secondary redundancies. You need at least 2 mega-cycles in Stasis Lock for your CR systems to repair them, but there's nothing I can do for the structural damage...'

'No can-do, Doc,' Chase said, swinging his legs off the recharge slab. 'I've gotta get back to the Pit...'

'Are you crazy?! You're in no condition...'

'Don't have a choice, Doc. I don't fight, Wire'll kill me...'

################

'...you sure about this?' First Aid asked as the door to the Pit ground open.

'I'm fine,' Chase said, hefting his Energo Axe, managing to take two steps before his leg gave out and he would have collapsed if First Aid hadn't caught him.

'You can't do this...'

'Like I said, I don't have a choice...'

'Yes, you do...' First Aid said. 'I'll fight in your place...'

Taking the Energo Axe from Chase, he stepped through into the Pit, the door grinding shut behind him.

################

The door ground shut behind First Aid as he entered the Pit, where an organic with black armoured plates that seemed to have been welded to his skin was waiting. On his right arm, he wore a metal power gauntlet. Without warning, he leapt, First Aid barely managing to dodge aside as his gauntlet struck the floor, buckling the plating. First Aid gripped the Axe in both hands, starting forward, just as the organic struck out with a kick that lifted him off his feet. First Aid struggled to his feet as he attacked again and he brought the axe down in a blow that severed his forearm, the gauntlet dropping to the floor with a clang. Even before he could react, First Aid had buried the axe in his head and he fell to ground, where he lay still. First Aid dropped the axe, falling to his knees, the lifeless eyes of the organic seeming to burn into him.

 _I killed him..._

Then, there was an explosion and First Aid raised his head to see a spherical red and yellow craft that looked like a stylised face smash through the wall of the Pit.

 _The RodPod...?_

The RodPod settled down with a thump and a hatch opened at the back, a purple jet roaring out, followed by a blue helicopter.

 _Cyclonus? Whirl?_

As he watched, they split up, laser fire ripping through Wire's minions as they stormed into the Pit.

'First Aid?' Snap asked, as she helped Chase hobble over to him. 'Who are these guys...?'

First Aid said nothing, just staring blankly as a red and yellow mech emerged from the RodPod and sprinted over.

 _Rodimus..._

'First Aid,' he said. 'Come on, get up. We need to get out of here...'

Putting his arm under his shoulder, he dragged him to his feet and manhandled him towards the RodPod, Snap and Chase following close behind.

################

'...alright,' Rung said. 'We're done for now...'

'That's it?' First Aid asked and Rung nodded.

'For now. We'll need to continue with your sessions, but, yes, we're done. Try and get some rest...'

'...okay...' First Aid said, hesitating before he stood up and left, the door closing behind him.

 **Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Any comments, reviews or constructive criticism very welcome.**


End file.
